Box-set bingeing is ride way to go
SKILL, dedication and supreme effort make the Olympics an unmissable spectacle.
Athletes at the peak of their abilities compete to be the world’s best.
They are the perfect antidote to “reality” wannabes and the polar opposite of most modern TV where “that’ll do” is the guiding principle.
It’d be hard to look at the summer’s insipid line-up of dozy dramas and witless comedy and not conclude that our TV bosses have given up.
Why are these clowns rewarded so richly for remaking old shows badly and booking unrecognisable microcelebrities? It’s not courageous broadcasting. It’s lazy, gutless and clueless. And it doesn’t have to be like this. The pay-TV revolution in the States kick-started a new golden age of TV drama. Shows made with skill, dedication and Olympian ambition; shows so good you can’t wait to watch the next episode.
We’ve produced a couple recently – The Night Manager and Line Of Duty – but the Yanks are the masters. For my money The Sopranos and Game Of Thrones are the greatest long-form dramas ever made.
If you’re not into Rio there are plenty of top-drawer series around to help you through the lean summer weeks.
Here’s my pick of five more bingeworthy TV box-sets... Email me at: garry.bushell@ dailystar.co.uk or write c/o Daily Star Sunday, 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN House Of Cards: Kevin Spacey stars as power-hungry congressman Francis Underwood, a cunning bastard who stops at nothing to claw his way to the top. He’s the law and order candidate who ought to be a Law & Order suspect.
Robin Wright is his equally ruthless Lady Macbeth of a missus in this inspired re-boot of the BBC classic. Fargo: Coen Brothers’ film brilliantly reinvented for TV. It’s got black humour, violence and a plot that grips like Rahimov’s hands on a barbell. Sons Of Anarchy: Hamlet on a Harley, this series about an outlaw biker gang has strong characters and more depth than Death Valley. Battlestar Galactica: a dwindling band of humans fight off android Cylon enemies in the smartest sci-fi series ever made. The West Wing: Aaron Sorkin’s fastpaced witty saga makes US politics seem spellbindingly eloquent. Judging by their current presidential candidates, it’s as far-fetched as the Southern Rail timetable. Alternatively, you can scan the schedules for decent cop shows and repeated sitcoms but you won’t find many you haven’t seen before. ANDREW “Dice” Clay was the USA’s first rock star comedian, filling stadiums with his mixture of dirty nursery rhymes and non-PC opinions. “If you don’t speak the language, get the f*** out the country,” he’d say to huge cheers. He was like Donald Trump with a laugh track. In Dice, Clay plays a version of himself living in Vegas and down on his luck (not far from the truth, he was playing small rooms there a few years back). It’s a bit like Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David’s part played by the tough-talking working class Brooklynite. Dice shows his flaws here, which makes him more likeable. But his filth-hound stage persona was funnier, peddling smutty one-liners like “Little Boy Blue – he needed the money…” ADAM Peaty, right, and all Team GB’s brilliant achievers… Michael Phelps… Simone Biles… Return To The Falklands. MASCARA Boys – plastic plonkers…Shazia Mirza, left – as funny as cramp…Wayward Pines – worst second season ever…Say Yes To This Dress – say no to this show. HOW did Brief Encounters end without finding room on the soundtrack for Donna Summer’s Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)? Or Musical Youth’s Pass The Dutch Cap? ODD, Rio’s swimming pools turned divers green, but on CBB the diving turned other housemates greener…
We’ve seen synchronised breaststroke and forward rolls. I’m pretty sure Bear also managed a faultless splashless entry. IF you sleep with an Amazon employee do they recommend someone else you might also like?